Morning journal and courier., 1887-07-11
HAIR OIL AND HAIR DYE,
Very Few Wen Use Them Nowadays
 Gray Hair Rather Fashionable. -

Very Few Wen Use Them Nowadays
 Gray Hair Rather Fashionable. --
 From the Washington star.l
 'fVery few men want oil on their hair nowadays" said a barber to & Star repor- ter. "A few years ago the man who didn't use hair oil was the exception, now the man who does use it is the exception. Of course we are glad of the change in taste, for it is money in our pockets. Five years ago had to have fresh supply of oil twice week; now the same quantity will last me month"
 "How about dyeing the hair and beardr, the reporter asked.
 "sThere has been a greater falling off in the use of dye than in the use of hair oil, 5 the barber continued. "A few years ago there was large class of gay old fellows who dyed their hair and whiskers almost as regularly as they shaved. Most of these men were more or less inclined to be sports or beaus, and always wanted to look as young as possible. Others, however, were respectable and steady-going citizens and business men. who gave in to vanity enough to want to keep looking young. There was a large class of out-and-o out gamblers and sharpers, who seemed to have an idea it was out of keeping with their profession to have anything but jet black whiskers and naoustaches. So that nearly all gam blers or sports who had red or sandy hair on their face, or on their head for that mat ter, used to have it dyed regularly as black as they could get it. A few of these are still around town. It's easy enough to tell them, because their eyebrows don't match the rest of the hair on their face."
 So you don't have much use for hair dye nowadaysa' the reporter interrogated, to keep up the How of tonsorial "reminiscences and reflections, which, contrary to the tradi- tions of the craft, seemed to show signs of drying up.
 ''No indeed. When man comes along now and asks to have his moustache or hair dyed he usually catches us unprepared, and If We have any dye on hand at all it generally takes good while to hunt it up and get the bottle dusted off. think we have only one reguler customer in that line now, and he ain't an old man, either. He is a young fellow whose hair is black, or nearly 1 black, while his eyebrows and beard are sandy. He has his whiskers and eyebrows dyed to match his hair regularly twice a month.
 "But young men don't seem to care nowa- days if their hair and beard are gray. In fact, they seem to be rather proud of it. When they really begin to grow old-that is, when they get within few laps of 50-they get sensitive about it, however, and if they are not bald frequently inquire as to the means TOT preventing the halr from turning gray, SIc.
 ''Oh, yes, great many men use cosmetic on their moustaehes," the barber continued, in response to suggestion. "In fact, there are very few who don't use it. Some time ago most men wouldn't let barber put any powder on their faces after shaving Now nearly all ask for it. It's Imaginable how par ticular some men are about their hair No matter how much care the barber takes about combing and brushing it, they are never sat- isfed, but always insist on taking the comb and brush themselves and arranging it just so, with every hair lying in certain posi- ton.
 "Old customers? I've got three that have shaved and sheared for seventeen years, think, without ever missing shaving day, except when out of town, or was sick for over week. They won't under any con- sideration let anyone else touch them, un- less they know I won't be around for three or four days. One of them let his beard grow couple of times when business com pelled him to be out of the city for a long time. They wait for me for hours when there are several ahead of them, and very often miss their shaving day rather than allow another barber to touch their faces. A man with tender skin is about as big crank on the subject of barbers and razors as you can inn agine."